A/N: I update this mainly for Leah. Even then, she doesn't review every time! mumbles Well..sigh Here we are again, and take note that I so want Luna's car..
The car made an abrupt jerk to the left as a Luna let it hit pavement once more. Harry jerked away, jarred from a dreamless sleep which had his head burning at how cold his forehead was. Luna was wide awake, or so it seemed, and that middle glass was still up between the seats.
"Right there, to your left, out the window," Luna said, her head tipping a bit out the window. Harry's head slowly turned, and his eyes squinted in frustration at how dark it was outside, perhaps around three in the morning.
There it was, softly fading into view as Luna shifted the Mustang into neutral to maneuver around the curve onto the gravel drive. Ahead, beckoning them, perhaps, was a one story, long-abused white house. The shutters were still all hanging, but some of the window had been broken and long dusted with a thin coat that Harry knew would be impossibly to wipe clean.
No movement was made, and no lights flickered. The door was slightly ajar, and as Luna stopped the Mustang before the house as Harry opened the door. The lawn was long in need of repair and a gnome tumbled through the crabgrass, cursing as he slowly fell down a steep hill. Weeds sprung from under the porch boards, and Harry turned, shutting the door and looking to Luna over the rooftop.
"Well, looking inside may be good. Do we interrupt these two?" Harry's eyes looked down to the tinted glass, unable to see if the two were asleep.
"Nah, we'll leave them. It's only searching for clues a bit and Hermoine can come in later. Just a sweep during the dark, nothing more," Luna said, taking a few crunching steps towards the house.
"Yah, in a strange house with no lights, wonderful," Harry grumbled as they climbed the creeking porch steps. Harry went first, not about to let his fear get into the way of his pride. His wand came up, his lighting spell cast as it illuminated the long-needed repaired house.
"Dumbledore's beard," Luna said as their eyes alighted upon the misshaped house. The furniture was all overturned, shredded and ripped with cotton laying all over the floor. Pictures frames were crashed, glass shattered and trinkets were long broken, long mishappen so that there was no way as to tell what they had been.
They continued on, surveying over the rooms as they made their way to the back rooms. The wall was coated in dust, and Luna ran a finger over a shelf, shaking her head at how long it had been sitting there. The hall was littered with bugs, garbage blown in by the wind, slowly making their way to the back Harry had the things adding up into his mind.
"They didn't live here, Luna," Harry said, pausing in the doorway. The beds were rumpled, the color long faded, and as Harry stepped into Luna's room he chuckled. There was no hint of any girly attributes. There was no music players, no posters, and only a simple dressed, cleared of everything except a single vase with a long wilted bunch of flowers.
"I noticed, the other room is the same. But, this is the address we were given! Where would we look now? The order has accurate information, so why did they bother to give us a wrong address!" Luna looked about, her hand coming up to her chin in frustration as she thought.
Harry, meanwhile, meandered through the other rooms, his feet scuffing over the different things littering the floor. Luna returned to look through the different cupboards and shelves, even within the oven. Harry's hand ran over the dusted dresses, rubbing them against his robes before looking beyond the room. What was the hint here? There couldn't just be nothing here! Think Harry…
He paused before the window, letting his finger meander over the windowsill. Well, the view was totally dark and hell if he knew what they were supposed to look for. Hermoine would have to get in here and solve the riddle, she always did. Sitting upon the bed, a small cloud of dust arose from the bed.
"Harry!" Luna called quite urgently. He was up, running down the hall, skidding to a stop before her where she stood before the mantle. He stepped forward, panting a bit as his hand came out to touch it.
"NO!" Her hand snapped out, grabbing his wrist, "Ok, now you can touch it." Harry's paled fingers wrapped around the small trinket before the sudden whooshing feeling overcame his body: he and Luna left their place within the old house and were transported elsewhere by the portkey.
They landed, Harry's knees giving way along with Luna's. And so they fell, into about two feet of clouded water. Dark, and cold, and a rat scurried away as soon as they landed.
"Well, hell…" Harry said, staggering about a moment before withdrawing his wand from out of his pocket. The spell was said, the wand lit, but in that instant before him Harry gasped.
Framed within a nearby large sewer pipe's opening, a man stood at about six feet tall. Clean-shaven, blue hues looked him over, a small smirk spreading across his face.
"Sirius?" Harry asked. The man nodded.
